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Trial registered on ANZCTR


Registration number
ACTRN12625000406404
Ethics application status
Approved
Date submitted
11/11/2024
Date registered
5/05/2025
Date last updated
5/05/2025
Date data sharing statement initially provided
5/05/2025
Type of registration
Prospectively registered

Titles & IDs
Public title
Effects of manual massage and massage gun recovery techniques on muscle properties after countermovement jumps in healthy and physically active university students
Scientific title
Acute effects of manual massage and massage gun recovery techniques on contractile muscle properties after countermovement jumps
Secondary ID [1] 313344 0
none
Universal Trial Number (UTN)
Trial acronym
Linked study record

Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
musculoskeletal injury 335701 0
Muscle recovery 335714 0
Condition category
Condition code
Musculoskeletal 332266 332266 0 0
Other muscular and skeletal disorders

Intervention/exposure
Study type
Interventional
Description of intervention(s) / exposure
The study will employ a randomized crossover design. All participants will undergo a total of four testing sessions. The first session will involve familiarization with the Bosco 60-second test, during which each participant will receive a detailed explanation and demonstration of the test procedure, followed by a correction of their technique. Between the first session involving familiarization and remaining three sessions there will be a period of ten days. The remaining three sessions will consist of a short standardised warm-up lasting 3 minutes, followed by a 5-minute rest period to avoid post-activation potentiation effects. This will be followed by initial testing of muscle contractile properties of the m. vastus medialis, one set of three countermovement jumps with a preparation phase and a one-minute rest period after them, the Bosco 60-second test, immediate testing of muscle contractile properties (assessed every 15 seconds over a 5-minute period for each leg), subjective load perception, and subjective muscle pain assessment. One of the recovery methods (manual massage, massage gun or control treatment - passive recovery) will then be applied, immediately followed by testing of muscle contractile properties and subjective muscle pain assessment. Ten minutes after each recovery technique muscle contractile properties will be tested and subjective muscle pain will be assessed. Finally, participants will perform another set of three countermovement jumps with preparation. Subjective muscle pain assessment will also be conducted 24 and 48 hours after the study protocol. During the application of each experimental recovery method, two different intervals will be used (3 and 6 minutes). The interval between testing sessions will be 10 days, with testing conducted at approximately the same time of day to avoid potential circadian rhythm effects. The initial session will take 30 minutes whilst the remaining three sessions will be approximately 1 hour each.
To assess the contractile properties of the vastus medialis muscle, the TMG-100 device will be used in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions (TMG-BMC d.o.o., Ljubljana, Slovenia). Participants will lie in supine position, completely relaxed, with the tested leg positioned at a 150° angle at the knee joint. After electrode placement, the position of the electrodes will be marked to ensure standardized measurement. A sensor for collecting muscle contractile properties will be positioned between the electrodes. The electrical stimulus will be set to 20 mA with a duration of 1 ms, then progressively increased by 10 mA every 10 seconds. The parameters used in this study will include the radial displacement of muscle belly transverse fibers (Dm), contraction time (Tc), maintenance of contraction (Ts), muscle relaxation (Tr), and muscle contraction delay time (Td).
The maximum height of the countermovement jump will be used as a sport-specific test to assess neuromuscular fatigue. This test was chosen due to its similarity to the fatigue-inducing protocol. Each participant will perform three countermovement jumps with hands placed on the hips, and the highest jump value will be recorded for analysis. Counter movement jump is a vertical jump and among the most often used tests for maximal anaerobic power output of the lower extremities. It is an eccentric-concentric muscle action which involves coordinated extension of the trunk, hip, knee and ankle. The initial position of the subject for the counter movement jump is an upright stance. It is important that the subject performs a quickly coupled counter movement – push-off action. While performing this lowest position should be a semi-squat (knee ~90° and trunk/hips in a flexed position) like in the case of the squat jump. The jump must be performed as quickly and explosively as possible in order to make the highest possible jump in the shortest possible time.
60-second Bosco protocol will be used for creating muscle fatigue. A large number of sports activities require the performance of multiple maximal vertical jumps, which is why this form of muscle fatigue induction was chosen. Studies often utilize the Bosco test lasting 15, 30, or 60 seconds. The 60-second Bosco protocol was selected because participants experience fatigue after 60 seconds of countermovement jumps, and this test is frequently used to determine anaerobic capacity. The 60-second Bosco test will consist of a single set of countermovement jumps, as described in Bosco, Luhtanen, and Komi (1983), conducted within two plates of the Optogait device (Version 1.6.4.0, Microgate, Bolzano, Italy; number of optical sensors: 96; sampling rate: 1000 Hz; surface area: 600 cm x 100 cm). During the Bosco 60-second test, participants will stand in place with their hands on their hips and feet shoulder-width apart. Following a signal from the examiner, the participant will squat to a self-selected depth and then perform countermovement jumps continuously for 60 seconds. The parameters assessed in this study will include ground contact time, flight time, jump height, cadence, reactive strength index, power, verticality, and mechanical jump power.
Recovery techniques which will be used include manual massage, massage gun and control treatment - passive recovery. The manual massage techniques used in this study will include effleurage, friction, and kneading. All three massage movements will be applied to both muscles by an experienced physiotherapist with extensive expertise in manual massage. During the session, a combination of all three techniques will be performed, with one leg receiving 60 seconds of effleurage followed immediately by 60 seconds of friction and then 60 seconds of kneading, resulting in a total duration of 3 minutes. The same techniques, in the same order, will be applied to the other leg, but each technique will last 120 seconds, for a total duration of 6 minutes. Participants will provide feedback on massage intensity on a scale of 1 to 10, using a subjective assessment method during the treatment (Garcia-Sillero, 2021). For massage gun therapy, the Hypervolt high-frequency vibration device will be used, commonly applied for recovery in sports. It will be used by a physiotherapist. The frequency will be set to 2100 Hz. Therapy will be conducted by following the muscle fibers of m. vastus medialis with the device for 3 minutes on one leg and 6 minutes on the other leg. During use, participants will provide feedback on pressure intensity on a scale of 1 to 10 (Garcia-Sillero, 2021). The order of recovery methods (type of recovery and time interval on left vs. right leg) will be randomly allocated. Each participant will undergo different recovery methods in the three sessions which will be randomly allocated using a computerised procedure.
For the subjective load assessment sRPE (Session Rate of Perceived Exertion) will be used. After jumping set, each participant will rate the intensity of the training on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 represents rest and 10 represents maximal exertion (Foster et al., 2001). The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) will be used to assess muscle pain, with 0 indicating no pain and 10 representing the maximum pain (Alexander, 2007). To monitor adherence to the intervention session attendance checklists will be used.
Intervention code [1] 329927 0
Treatment: Other
Comparator / control treatment
Comparator will be passive recovery
In the passive recovery method, participants will not perform any recovery technique and will instead be asked to lie still on a table for 3 and 6 minutes (same duration as experimental recovery techniques applied). They will receive the same fatigue and measurement protocol which was performed during application of one of the two experimental recovery treatments.
Control group
Active

Outcomes
Primary outcome [1] 339835 0
Contractile properties of m. vastus medialis
Timepoint [1] 339835 0
Primary outcomes will b ee assessed 5 minutes after warm up, immediately after muscle fatigue protocol and every 15 seconds during a 5-minute period for each leg, immediately after recovery technique protocol, 10 minutes after recovery technique protocol. Assessment will occur after each 3-minute and 6-minute interval of the recovery technique protocol.
Secondary outcome [1] 441606 0
Muscle soreness
Timepoint [1] 441606 0
Immediately after muscle fatigue protocol, immediately after muscle recovery protocol, 10 minutes after muscle recovery protocol, 24 hours after testing session, and 48 hours after testing session. Assessment will occur after each 3-minute and 6-minute interval of the recovery technique protocol.
Secondary outcome [2] 445537 0
Subjective load assessment.
Timepoint [2] 445537 0
After warm up, and immediately after muscle fatigue protocol

Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
Physically active university students with absence of musculoskeletal injuries in the past year, no history of anterior cruciate ligament injury, a normal health status, and avoidance of high-intensity activities 48 hours before and 48 hours after testing.
Minimum age
18 Years
Maximum age
30 Years
Sex
Both males and females
Can healthy volunteers participate?
Yes
Key exclusion criteria
Musculoskeletal injury in the past year
History of anterior cruciate ligament injury
Severe illness involving capacity to perform physical activity
High-intensity activities 48 hours before and after testing

Study design
Purpose of the study
Treatment
Allocation to intervention
Randomised controlled trial
Procedure for enrolling a subject and allocating the treatment (allocation concealment procedures)
Central randomisation by computer
Methods used to generate the sequence in which subjects will be randomised (sequence generation)
Randomisation table created by computer software (i.e. computerised sequence generation) stratified by order of recovery technique, and the time interval of recovery technique applied to right vs. left leg.
Masking / blinding
Open (masking not used)
Who is / are masked / blinded?



Intervention assignment
Crossover
Other design features
Phase
Not Applicable
Type of endpoint/s
Statistical methods / analysis
For the purposes of this study, IBM SPSS 20 (version 20) will be used. The Shapiro-Wilk W test will be applied to assess the normality of the distribution. Descriptive statistics will be presented for all variables within each group, with results shown as means ± standard deviation. Differences between tensiomyographic variables will be tested using a repeated measures ANOVA, which will assess the interaction between time and recovery method. In the case of statistically significant differences, the post hoc Bonferroni test will be used. Partial eta squared will be employed to determine the effect size, with interpretations as small (partial eta squared < 0.01), medium (0.01 < partial eta squared < 0.06), and large (partial eta squared > 0.06). The same test will be conducted to determine differences in the maximum height of the countermovement jump. To assess differences in the duration of the recovery method application, a paired t-test will be used. Cohen’s d will be used to determine the effect size, interpreted as trivial (d<0.20), small (0.20<d<0.49), medium (0.50<d<0.79), and large (d=0.80) (Cohen, 1992). The level of statistical significance will be set at p<0.05.

Recruitment
Recruitment status
Not yet recruiting
Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
2/06/2025
Actual
Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
1/08/2025
Actual
Date of last data collection
Anticipated
1/09/2025
Actual
Sample size
Target
40
Accrual to date
Final
Recruitment outside Australia
Country [1] 26716 0
Croatia
State/province [1] 26716 0

Funding & Sponsors
Funding source category [1] 317792 0
University
Name [1] 317792 0
Faculty of Kinesiology Osijek
Country [1] 317792 0
Croatia
Primary sponsor type
University
Name
Faculty of Kinesiology Osijek
Address
Country
Croatia
Secondary sponsor category [1] 320119 0
None
Name [1] 320119 0
Address [1] 320119 0
Country [1] 320119 0

Ethics approval
Ethics application status
Approved
Ethics committee name [1] 316475 0
Committee for Scientific Work and Ethics of the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Kinesiology Zagreb
Ethics committee address [1] 316475 0
Ethics committee country [1] 316475 0
Croatia
Date submitted for ethics approval [1] 316475 0
24/09/2024
Approval date [1] 316475 0
23/10/2024
Ethics approval number [1] 316475 0
97/2024

Summary
Brief summary
Trial website
Trial related presentations / publications
Public notes

Contacts
Principal investigator
Name 138010 0
A/Prof Iva Sklempe Kokic
Address 138010 0
Faculty of Kinesiology Osijek, Drinska 16a, 31000 Osijek
Country 138010 0
Croatia
Phone 138010 0
+385915082854
Fax 138010 0
Email 138010 0
[email protected]
Contact person for public queries
Name 138011 0
Sara Ascic
Address 138011 0
Faculty of Kinesiology Osijek, Drinska 16a, 31000 Osijek
Country 138011 0
Croatia
Phone 138011 0
+385998253115
Fax 138011 0
Email 138011 0
[email protected]
Contact person for scientific queries
Name 138012 0
Sara Ascic
Address 138012 0
Faculty of Kinesiology Osijek, Drinska 16a, 31000 Osijek
Country 138012 0
Croatia
Phone 138012 0
+385998253115
Fax 138012 0
Email 138012 0
[email protected]

Data sharing statement
Will the study consider sharing individual participant data?
Yes
Will there be any conditions when requesting access to individual participant data?
Persons/groups eligible to request access:
• Only researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal

Conditions for requesting access:
• -

What individual participant data might be shared?
• Individual participant data underlying published results only, after de-identification.

What types of analyses could be done with individual participant data?
• For IPD meta-analyses

When can requests for individual participant data be made (start and end dates)?
From:
After completion of first data analysis
To:
A finite period of: 5 years
Where can requests to access individual participant data be made, or data be obtained directly?
• Access subject to approvals by Principal Investigator. Contact for the principal investigator is [email protected]

Are there extra considerations when requesting access to individual participant data?
No


What supporting documents are/will be available?

Doc. No.TypeCitationLinkEmailOther DetailsAttachment
24328Study protocol  [email protected]
24329Statistical analysis plan  [email protected]
24330Informed consent form  [email protected]
24331Clinical study report  [email protected]
24332Ethical approval  [email protected]



Results publications and other study-related documents

Documents added manually
No documents have been uploaded by study researchers.

Documents added automatically
No additional documents have been identified.